A Philosophy of Comedy on Stage and Screen: You Have to be There

As far as we know, only human beings have a sense of humour – although chimps might laugh when tickled, and dogs respond similarly in play, Seth McFarlane's fan-base is comprised exclusively of humans. Whilst animals and robots might feature as prominent characters in our favourite comic movies, shows and stand-up routines, we have no reason to suspect that their real-life brethren get the joke.

Drawing on the philosophy of Martin Heidegger, Shaun May attempts to address this issue – sugges...